---
title: Spend of a run
summary: Runs are paid from the business's balance as they go. The business sees the spend by month and by assistant, can set a monthly limit on AI, and is told plainly when AI has stopped.
tools: []
related: [run, stopping-and-retry, built-in-agents, run-journal]
search: [AI cost, usage]
---

# Spend of a run

## What is paid

AI work is paid from the balance of the business, as it is done. That is each call
the agent makes to the model during a run, and the search of the knowledge by
meaning together with the indexing of new text (see
[Searching the knowledge](../knowledge/knowledge-search.md)). Storing the data
and Talemo's work for the business are charged once a day, three days late: a day's
costs become final only then. They are not AI.

## Where the business sees it

In the **Money** section, on the **Spending this month** tab:

- **AI by assistant:** a line for each assistant. They are the Talemo assistant
  and the Online admin;
- **Knowledge search:** a separate line;
- the lines for storing the data and for Talemo's work: one charge a day, three
  days late.

The tab **What it went on** shows each assistant with the number of runs this
month.

## Monthly limit

The owner of the business can set a limit on AI for the calendar month, in the tab
**Spending limit**. The field left empty means no limit: AI spends as much as the
balance allows. The limit counts only AI. Storage, Talemo's work and incoming
messages go past it, because otherwise clients could not reach the business.

When the limit is reached, AI stops until the next month or until the limit is
raised, and the rest of Talemo keeps working. The owner sees "The spending limit
for the month is used up" in the assistant chat with **Raise the limit**. The team
sees when the assistant will answer again, or that it answers earlier if the owner
raises the limit. The knowledge search falls back to words.

## When the balance runs low

When the balance comes down to the reserve kept for a month of the business's
work without the online admin and the assistant, AI in the business stops, and everything else works. The owner can top up the balance, and
AI starts again.

## The online admin's daily limit

The online admin has its own limit for a day, set with its rights (see
[Built-in agents](built-in-agents.md)). When it is reached, the online admin
stops for the day. The clients' messages wait for people, and the online admin
answers again the next day.

## How the limit is checked

The check happens before a run starts and before each call to the model. A call
that has already begun when the limit is reached finishes and is counted, so a run
can pass the limit by that one call. A run that stops this way ends with the
reason "spending limit" (see [Stopping, cut-offs and retries](stopping-and-retry.md)).